Peru recap, Day 4

If you're bored of reading Peru recaps, my apologies. I'm trying to write everything down while it is still fresh, but even I'm annoyed by the monotonous "and then we did this" tone these posts have taken. If you could use a break, why not watch this? Otherwise, feel free to humor me, below.

Tuesday morning we woke up bright and early for our flights to Cusco, only to sit in the airport for four hours. Minor flight delay. No explanation. Originally, our flight was due in at 11, and our first tour was starting at 1:45, so we started getting a bit nervous that we would miss a big part of our package. Fortunately, we landed around 1 and arrived at the hotel right on time to begin our Cusco City tour. Unfortunately, we didn't have any time to change, so I spent the day in my schlubby travel outfit and Heather spent the afternoon freezing without a jacket. Minor issues.

Cusco was spectacular. If Lima was like Rome (gray, old, crumbly, loud and hectic), then Cusco was like Florence (brown, artsy, warm, laid back). Our city tour took us to the Basilica Cathedral, Covento de Santo Domingo, Saqsaywaman, and Tambomachay. Then, our tour guide took us to an alpaca factory/retail store to show us how to tell the difference betweem real alpaca wool and manufactured. (Hint: real wool is softer, smaller. It also requires shampoo to clean it, which is why I didn't come home with sweaters for anyone. I don't imagine any of us time for hand-washing.)

Before we headed back, our guide took us to one final place, the name of which escapes me, but it was a ruin above the city that used to hold human sacrifices. We were literally climbing through caves at sundown to get to the specific area. I took a picture after we were done; tell me if you think the many orbs in it are dust or ghosts.

What? It's Halloween? I'm just sayin'...

It felt like we packed two days worth of activities into just an afternoon, and one of the things I liked most about this tour company was that every day in Cusco felt like that. They packed so much in, so much more than any of their materials suggested, my vacation theme of "surprise and delight" continued. Peru Gateway Travel, by the way, was the name of the company. I would recommend it to anyone looking to do something similar. They were uber professional, provided awesome, English speaking tour guides that went above and beyond anything I would have expected, and really made this part of our trip so fabulous. And no, they are not paying me to write this.

Let me talk about the hotel for a minute. I mentioned awhile ago that technically, it was considered a hostel, at least by name. I knew we would have our own room and own bathroom, but other than that, I really did not know what to expect. Well, again, I was impressed, and pleasantly surprised. The room was small, and the bathroom was not that of the Radisson, but it was cozy and adorable. There were two twin beds with nice bedding, exposed brick and wooden beams, cable television, a fireplace, a space heater, hot water, and more free internet in the business center downstairs! We also had free breakfast included every morning. Really, it was nice.

Or at least it was nice on that first night. By the second night, after our rainy day in Machu Picchu, I didn't so much appreciate the threadbare towels; and by the last night, I was gagging on some mildewy smell. There was also the small annoyance that our "included breakfast" only included rolls and jam and cheese, and they charged for extra slices! But the bread and the jam were made fresh, daily, and other than waking up to gunfire on that last morning, I couldn't really complain. Much. This was an adventure vacation, after all. The accomodations were just part of the adventure.

Peru, Days 2 and 3

Sunday we woke up bright and early for our tour of Pachacamac, an old Indian village outside of Lima. Of all the things we did on the trip, this is the only thing I would probably not bother to recommend. There was nothing wrong with it; it's just that it was underwhelming, especially compared to the ancient ruin sites we would see later, in Cusco. Even the tour company must have realized it was underwhelming. The first hour of our tour was not even spent taking us there; instead they drove a few miles south of our hotel in Miraflores and gave us the history of the Barranco.

Essentially, if Miraflores is Santa Monica, the Barranco district is Venice - more artsy, laid-back, bohemian. It was nice. But not necessary for a day tour.

Anyway, I had been excited to see Pachacamac, thinking it would be rich with history and energy and spirits. While we did see a human skull by the side of the road, there were few other signs of life to be found. It was primarily brown scenery, worn-down, ill-preserved architecture, and, compared to the stuff we saw later in the trip, kind of lame.

The tour ended around 1, so we got dropped off near the Indian market and shopped around for a little while. Then we ate lunch and went back to the hotel to rest before what would end up being our biggest night out.

We started with (a free) cocktail hour in the hotel bar. I ordered a martini, which I RARELY drink, but I figured, when in Peru... or something. For dinner, we took a taxi back to the Barranco district, and found the cutest little restaurant at which to eat. It was a small, family-run place with only one other table of diners, and both the owner and his waiter son took a liking to us. There was a special on beer, so we ordered a half-pitcher. After dinner, we decided to check out the nightlife, and ended up at this cute little bar that had a 2-for-1 special. And that's when I stupidly switched back to vodka.

Now, because drinks were already cheap in Peru, with the 2-for-1 deal, we were paying something like $3 for both drinks. So of course we had to have a second round. Did I mention that I very, very, very rarely even drink vodka? I learned, about a year ago, that I absolutely can not metabolize it anymore and I get a raging hangover anytime I have more than one cocktail. However, the funny thing about vodka is that it always renders me incapable of remembering this - as if, with the first sip, it just shuts off that part of my brain - so I ALWAYS end up having more than one.

So you can probably guess what happened the next morning. I was a hungover mess and couldn't get out of bed. What you probably couldn't guess was that before I felt like complete ass and made us miss our historic Lima tour, I initiated a dance party in the hotel room. Unfortunately, of all the wonderful amenities the Radisson had, an iPod dock was not one of them, so we just danced sharing the earbuds.

Dance, party of two.

Anyway, I felt like crap the next morning and even worse that we missed the tour. Heather, who has a liver of steel, was so understanding and was happy to let me rest. Ultimately, though, I knew I didn't want to spend the day in the hotel, so we rallied and just took a cab ourselves to the historic municipal district.

I won't go into all the buildings we saw - in part because that would take too much time but also because I don't really know everything we saw - but I will tell you my favorite: the Convento de San Francisco, where we took a tour of the Catacombs. We weren't allowed to take photos, but I did buy some post cards. After going on a labyrinth-like tour of the underground, we saw this:

and this:

and room after room of more human bones than I think probably most people have seen in their lifetime.

And dare I say? It was so cool!

We also got to see an incredibly old library which contains 25,000 books written in the 17th century. I walked in, and immediately recalled the opening scene in Ghostbusters, which, as I write this even now, gives me the chills just thinking about.

The entire time we were in there I spent transfixed, staring off into the distance, trying (hoping) to catch a random movement or gust of wind or any change in energy. The whole room felt charged.

After seeing that, it was hard to maintain energy for much else, so we headed back to the hotel to rest again before dinner. At which, in preparation for our early morning flights to Cusco, Heather and I wisely stuck to wine.

Peru, Day 1

I've been home for almost a week and I haven't even really begun to recap the trip. I guess I am a bit overwhelmed, as every day brought something new, something vastly different than the day before. While I know I can recall the details of the trip - many as there were - I don't know if I can adequately express their significance or how amazing it felt to see it all firsthand. Well, I guess Van Halen helped out with that last part.

After my kvetching on Friday night, Nicole drove me to LAX where I had absolutely no problems getting through security, getting a good seat on board, falling asleep on the plane, or making my connection. I arrived in Lima around 3 PM, on time, and hopped in a cab to the hotel where I met Heather.

I mentioned that the Radisson was a delight. In fact, it was what we refer to in my office as a "surprise and delight." Between our numerous freebies - drinks per diem, internet, (huge) buffet breakfast - large room, fantastic shower, and the generally wonderful staff, every day brought something new to be impressed by. It's not like we planned on staying in a luxury hotel. But we sure felt like were in one.

What didn't surprise - nor delight - either of us, was the weather. I had heard that Lima was gray, and it did not disprove itself. Our first day there happened to be the nicest, and we did manage to catch a few rays peeking out, but coming from LA, I thought even that was pretty dismal.

Saturday evening, full of energy, Heather and I walked a few blocks west to the Larcomar shopping district, which I immediately associated with the Third Street Promenade. Touristy, big-chain restaurants (Hi, Hooters!), decent if not random shopping, and a panoramic view of the Pacific. However, while the Santa Monica ocean is almost always some hue of blue, this Pacific was mostly only shades of gray.

Other than the sunset, there wasn't much else to see at this small mall, so we headed back east towards Miraflores' central square for dinner. There we found Lima's version of restaurant row, one eatery after another, all different, yet all the same. Suddenly feeling our jet lag after our mile-plus walk, we settled on one of the first decent places we came across, ordered two pisco sours, and some local cuisine. Heather had the stuffed bell pepper, I had the avocado with chicken salad. (Yes, it was Peruvian, I swear! There was mayonnaise! Which actually kind of makes me shudder now but I ate it like a champ, then.)

Finally, exhausted, we got the check, discovered that Heather was happy to manage the money on the trip as long as I would handle the language, and went back to the hotel to enjoy our free nightcap.

More (and more exciting adventures) to come...

Tonight's Peru recap is brought to you by Van Halen

(Turn up your sound...)

Seis cosas

Crystal tagged me for a short meme. The theme is to list six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself, but since I am still in Peru-recap mode, I'm highlighting six random things related to my trip. Here goes:

1. Halfway through our Cusco trip, I noticed what looked like a spider bite on the palm of my hand. "I think I got bit by something" I told Heather on the tour bus that day. The woman sitting in front of us, who had spent the week before on a medical mission in the countryside and hadn't talked to us the three days prior even though we had spent our whole tour together, turned around and offered, "I hope it's not scabies." Um, what? "I came down with scabies the last time I did a mission. Does the bump have a black dot in the center?" Um, no. "Then it's probably just a bite." Thanks. I spent that night in a fitful sleep dreaming about spiders, bedbugs, and scabies.

2. The next morning, we woke up to gunfire. It sounded like it was coming from right outside of our hotel; however the walls were pretty thin and a lot of things sounded like they came from right outside our hotel. The first time it happened, Heather and I woke up with a start, said, "What was that?!" and then kind of dismissed it because it stopped as quickly as it started. When it happened again 15 minutes later, we dismissed it again, for the same reason. But when rounds fired a third time, we started getting scared. "What should we do?" she asked. "We could call the front desk," I offered, though I'm pretty sure I said, "You could call the front desk" because it was cold and I really didn't want to get out of bed. "Well," she started, "it's not like anyone is screaming or anything, so I can't imagine we're in any real danger." Practical girl. My thoughts, exactly. We both fell back asleep, grateful it was our last day in Cusco.

3. Heather and I had our own private dance party in the Radisson one night. Rhianna played on my iPod, and we each shared an earbud.

4. The next morning, I was so hungover I made us miss the Historic Lima tour we had already paid for. I rallied that afternoon, though, and we went by ourselves, anyway.

5. I think the hardest part of being away was Life Without Starbucks. (Yes, they had a few, but never in my path at 7 AM when I needed it.) I did manage to get coffee almost every morning, but in some cases it was too weak, in others, it was like drinking ink, and the whole thing just stressed me out so much I eventually just stopped trying.

6. The other hard part was drinking water, not because it was in short supply, but because the public bathrooms were so hit-or-miss. Many did not have toilet paper, and some did not even have toilet seats! I came prepared with tissues and antibac wipes, but I consciously refrained from hydrating because I never knew what to expect. That, combined with the fact that my body physically shuts down when I go away, and it is virtually impossible for me to go to the bathroom anywhere but my own home, made for one uncomfortable trip. Fortunately, I am already feeling much better.

I am supposed to tag six people but instead, why don't you all tell me about your favorite (or worst) vacation. Link back and tell me if you do. More recaps to come.

Peru recap, part 1

I'm back, bitches!

(Yeah, I don't know, I've just wanted to say that all day.)

And what else can I say? It was fabulous. Uh-mazing. Trip of a lifetime. So, where to begin?

I knew I was needlessly worrying on Friday night, but I couldn't help it. Fortunately, Nicole had offered to drive me to the airport, so it was a big comfort to have her over and share some beers in the few hours leading up to my flight. And of course, everything I had worried about was for naught. The flight was on time (the airport wasn't exactly packed at midnight), I easily made the connection, slept soundly through both flights, and Copa Airlines was a dream! We were served hot meals - with actual silverware - and weren't charged for pillows, blankets, or extra luggage. It was really the best airline experience I've had in a while.

I arrived in Lima, on time, at 3 PM on Saturday. My bag was first out of the gate, I sailed through customs, and successfully bargained with the cab driver. I arrived at the hotel a short time later, met up with Heather, and swapped pleasantly-surprised exclamations at how nice the hotel was. She had booked us in the Radisson, which, in the US, I believe, is a fairly mid/low-budget hotel. Here, it was definitely low in cost, but I swear, it offered a 4-5 star experience. Our room was more like a suite - with a large lounge area plus fantastic bathroom/shower, there was free Internet on new computers in the business center, a full (huge) breakfast was included everyday, and we also got a S30 (Soles) per diem to use towards free drinks, water, or whatever we wanted at the hotel bar. Um, hello!

Heather and I on the first night, exhausted, but enjoying free bevvies!

First off, one of the best things about Peru is that you actually get a lot for your dollar. One American dollar is worth about 3 Soles, and food and drinks are priced shockingly low. So a S30 (approx $10) per day stipend bought us both at least one round of drinks or a few waters at the hotel. Even when we went out at night, we were thrilled to discover we were paying only about $15 each for an entree and a few glasses of wine. Heather hilariously commented, "It's like we're making money by being here!"

While we're talking about money, I should also note that I've known Heather since college, however I apparently never knew she was a secret math nerd. She happily took charge of figuring out each bill, while I took care of the language portion of the trip. Coffee Break Spanish plus five years in high school/college allowed me to recall enough basic Spanish to get by. Of course, it also helped that nearly everyone spoke a little English.

That calculator came everywhere.

Since food and drink were so cheap, it goes without saying that we consumed our fair share of both the trip. The only time I left my house today was to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies from the market, as I am officially off alcohol and sugar and anything majorly processed for the forseeable future. (Or, at least until Wednesday). Yes, we got a lot of exercise, but not enough to keep me from feeling like the Incredible Bloated Blob. National Elastic Waistband Week has promptly been put into effect.

Overall, not everything was perfect, but it was, without a doubt, the trip of a lifetime. I'll post a more detailed itinerary and stories later this week, but in the meantime, you can view a handful of my fairly-well-captioned photos here. (This is actually only about half the pictures. I am nothing if not a good editor.)

Mas pronto!

32 years of anxiety packed tightly in a rolly-bag and carry-on

With only a few hours left to go, I'm unusually nervous about my trip to Peru.

Considering I fly, on average, about once per month, and have visited a number of foreign countries (well, not a big number, but a decent handful), I really have no reason to be so. Maybe it's the idea of spending a week in a second world country, or that, given the state of the economy, I might be returning home to one, but I am uncommonly unsettled right now.

Because I don't want to spend my trip (or the hours leading up to it) being a Nervous Nelly, I am going to purge all my fears in this one blog post, and then, hopefully, never utter them again.

I can't help but feel like I've forgotten something major. However, I have packed: my passport, my wallet, my camera, my camera battery charger, my ipod, my ipod charger, my phone (which won't work) and my phone charger, all my toiletries, ten pairs of underwear and socks, four pairs of shoes, seven pairs of pants, less than half the hoodies in my closet, about 40 other tops, books, magazines, Spanish Phrases for Dummies, and probably a million other things I was worried about forgetting which is why all this has been packed since Saturday.

I am worried about not having a working cell phone. I'm already having separation anxiety at the thought of not checking my email, my Facebook, Gawker, Huffington Post, the Dow, my work email, how well my soap is selling, and, of course, the 20+ blogs I read. I know at least one hotel will have a business center. The point, however, is that I am going ON VACATION and should probably learn how to actually enjoy it.

I am worried that I only got to lesson 12 in Coffee Break Spanish. Although I have eight podcasts downloaded for my trip, and I already know everything I really need to say: "No entiendo, lo siento" and "Mas despacio, por favor!" But I was really hoping to be a bit more bilingual by now.

I am worried about finding the good kind of cab from the Lima airport. I am worried that Customs may take my two boxes of Zone bars, which I brought so I could have options other than guinea pig. Or cat. I am worried that security might take the few sleeping pills I'm smuggling on board, hiding them like they are something much worse (and more fun). I'm worried about getting the middle seat or being seated next to someone highly undesirable. I'm worried about sleeping on the flight, or, more accurately, NOT sleeping. I'm worried about connecting in Panama City, or, by some scheduling issue, not connecting in Panama City.

I'm worried about our flights to Cusco, that they might be delayed and we might miss out on part of our package. I'm worried about getting altitude sickness in Cusco, which is 11,000 feet above sea level. I'm worried about one of the other tour companies messing up our reservations and therefore our schedule in Peru. I'm worried about paying in Sols and haggling at the market and having to worry about not losing my passport.

I'm actually worried about being worried. I would take one of the few Xanax I'm bringing for the flights, but then I would worry about not having it when I need it. I could drink some wine but then, what if I had too much and forgot something important? I really need to get over this.

In any case, I hope you all have a worry-free week. Look for a fun guest-post on Tuesday! And if I can tear myself away from ancient Incan culture, I will consider trying to update from down below.

Adios, amigos!

Small fortunes

I've been looking for condos on and off for a year now. Today was the first day I found not one, but two, things in my price range that were not only acceptable, but places I would be excited to move into. I'm not jumping into anything yet, for a number of reasons, but it is encouraging to see that the market has come down enough to make buying a reality for me.

Of those reasons, one is that my financial adviser, among others, is convinced the market will continue to go down for at least another six months to a year. He specifically told me that if I'm not being forced to move, don't, unless I get an amazing deal. The two places I saw today seemed like amazing deals, and one I would actually consider putting in a bid for. Except for the other reasons. One of which is that Mercury is currently retrograding, and you are never supposed to make big purchases in such a period. I would never base such a huge decision solely on something as flaky as astrology, but if there are other factors, I will certainly take the solar alignment into consideration.

One of the other factors is Peru, which is only three weeks away! I'm not about to start something fairly major and ripe in legal entanglements when I'm leaving the country for seven days. I'm kind of hoping that the second place I saw today will still be on the market when I get back. By then, Mercury will be direct, I'll be in the country, and I'll likely get it for much less than it's listed for now. And if not, then that will be a good sign it wasn't meant to be.

Speaking of Peru, almost everything is booked! We fly into Lima on a Saturday, stay in the suburb of Miraflores Saturday through Tuesday. Then, Tuesday, we fly to Cusco for our four-day excursion to Machu Picchu. Only one full day is Machu Picchu. Another is an Indian Village tour, another is a city tour. You can view the full itinerary here. Friday we fly back to Lima and we are staying in a super nice hotel for our last night, to make up for the fact that we're staying in a hostel in Cusco. I don't think it's like a bad hostel, just like a really, really, really basic hotel. But still. For that last night, we got an amazing rate at the Miraflores Park Hotel, and I think it will be just what the doctor ordered.

I can't get too excited about Peru, though, until the next ten days are over. I've been working on this really exciting and fabulous work project that culminates on October 1, and, until then, my attention is focused on that. I'll write more about this project either this week or next, and I hope you all will support me, as it is not only a personal pet project of mine but it also helps a great number of people across the country. More info to come.

I watched the movie Fiddler on the Roof this weekend, for the first time, ever. It seemed appropriate to title this post, "If I Were a Rich Girl" [(Yubbi dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum (or na na na na na na na na na na, if you prefer the Gwen Stefani version)], simply because I am looking at the lowest priced, reasonably liveable condos on the market. And that I'm staying in a hostel, despite the fact that I am 32 years old and really, REALLY, appreciate things like a hot shower. Clearly, I am not rich, but make plans like I aspire to be. But I have to honestly say that I feel EXTREMELY rich right now, wealthy in experience and friends and luck and energy... I am a rich girl. If not on paper or in my pocketbook, in life.

iLori

A couple of weeks ago, I upgraded my wireless pay-per-text plan to an unlimited one. Since then, some glitch in the system caused all of my texts to be sent as "slide show" messages, and thus virtually unreadable to half of my friends.

After a two-week text hiatus, I finally went to the AT&T store at lunch today, to see if they could fix it. But, once I learned I was eligible for an upgrade, I purchased the iPhone instead.

I've only had it for about three hours now but I am too obsessed with it to do any work. I'm so not a tech person, and could care less about most gadgets, but this? This is no gadget. This is salvation. Seriously, it blows my mind that, only four years ago, I was just figuring out how to text and getting DSL in my apartment; and now I have unlimited Internet capabilities on something that fits in my hand.

Perhaps most astoundingly, I have GPS navigation. Where was THAT when I moved here a few years ago? The concept of GPS had barely been invented then, let alone accessible to anyone for less than a few hundred dollars. Now, thanks to this, I'll never again have to rely on Mapquest printouts or my own questionable sense of direction.

I'd been wanting this phone for a while, and am, so far, so pleased with my decision. This will have to put a temporary cap on my spending, however. I just booked the 4-Day Machu Picchu tour within our Peru trip, and we still need to book our flights to Cusco and hotel rooms in Lima.

I did, fortunately, find a FABULOUS, free way to learn Spanish before I go. Thanks to Mazing Amy, who suggested checking iTunes for free podcasts. I came across Coffee Break Spanish, which has a library of 15-minute lessons, starting from the basic "hola" (Holla!) (Challah!) to more advanced conversation. What I find hilarious and truly entertaining, though, is that the instructors are from Scotland; so, apropos to my heritage, I am learning to speak Spanish with a sexy Scottish brogue.

Here's the juice

Thank you thank you to everyone who commented and emailed me suggestions in response to my last post. I am still combing through all the details, but I have a pretty good idea of how I want to schedule the rest of the trip. Additionally, three people in my office have been to Peru and Machu Picchu, one of whom is a native, so they have all been ripe with recommendations. And, randomly, Elle has a whole story this month on where to go in Lima - at least, for good shopping - so that was a pleasant surprise I uncovered just pages into their monster four pound issue.

At this point, my biggest concern about Machu Picchu is whether I will ever be able to spell it. Seriously? I've been researching it for weeks now and I still can't write it without looking online to confirm which word has the extra "c".

Before I get too excited about Peru, however, I have another trip to get out of the way. I am headed to NYC this week for a quick work jaunt that should be good and hopefully not as exhausting as some of the others.

Additionally, this week, the Cringe book is coming out, and I'm a bit nervous about what to expect. There is a Today Show segment planned, and I imagine some talk in the blogosphere, and I have no idea what, if anything, will link back to me. Last summer, when I found out that five of my entries were being used, I freaked out a bit, and tried to get the author to take them out. No go. Instead, I gave a pseudonym so as to avoid my real name coming up in Google; but I gave this blog address for credit, figuring I might at least pick up a few readers. Back then, though, half my high school wasn't in touch with each other on Facebook, and the chances of anyone I actually wrote about reading it, were low. Now, however, there may be cause for me to start my Peruvian vacation two months early, shamed into hiding deep in the Amazonian jungle.

If I'm so embarrassed, why am I writing about here, you ask? Because I'm in a freaking book, that's why! Despite the fact that my 10 year old mind still makes me cringe, I'm really excited to see this stuff in print. Dignity is overrated.

Finally, and relevant to nothing, I would like to tell you that I spent $10 on orange juice this weekend. No, I didn't buy a few gallons of Tropicana or my usual Trader Joe's version. I was at Whole Foods, and apparently misread the price tag. Seeing as the juice was organic and fresh-squeezed, I thought $4.99 was reasonable for a "once in a while" treat. Not until I got home and looked at the receipt did I realize I'd just spent $9.99 on juice that expires in three days.*

Hopefully I'll be more adept in my Peruvian purchases than I am at picking my perishables.

* It wasn't until I wrote this post and went back to look at the juice that I realized it expires on Wednesday. And I'm leaving for NYC on Tuesday. So I poured myself a big glass because I can't let $10 juice go to waste. It is, hands down, the most delicious orange juice I've ever had. But for $10, they could have at least put vodka in it.

Perusing my options - with your help

I haven't been much inspired to write this summer, but I think the next few weeks will give cause for a more frequent series of interesting posts.

The first news I'm excited to share is that today, when I should have been busy working, I was booking a trip to Peru! Yay!

Some background: Ever since I got back from my amazing Cabo trip last year, I promised myself I would start taking annual vacations. For my entire adult life, I have complained that I never have enough vacation time, don't have the money, can't ever coordinate time off from work. All valid reasons, but really, just excuses. Excuses that have kept me from some of the amazing life experiences many of my friends have had by now. You could say I've developed a slight case of passport envy.

I'm going in October with my friend Heather from New York, so we were primarily looking in South America because it's about equidistant between the two of us, and the weather would work out with our timing. From the first time I ever heard about it, I've been fascinated by Machu Picchu. I've heard that the land is very spiritual, which I love, and am intrigued that it is so remote, one literally must take a plane, train, and an automobile to get there.

We booked our tickets today, in and out of Lima, but still have to book hotels, our mini tour to Machu Picchu (3-5 days) and possibly other day tours/trips around Lima (2-3 days). I would love any suggestions you guys might have, including, but not limited to, the following:

- Can you recommend any good (reputable) tour companies we might look into for the MP trip? There are so many online, it's overwhelming, and I don't want to end up on Dateline as the posterchild for what NOT to do when booking an online vacation.

- Other than TripAdvisor, can you recommend any good websites we might research the above information?

- What are things we might do/see in Lima? Should we consider a tour company for sightseeing, or is it easy to walk around and see for ourselves?

- Does anyone have Intro to Spanish on audio I might borrow? I can't imagine purchasing a Rosetta Stone just for a vacay, but I would like the option of not spending the week sounding like an asshole.

- So, I booked my flights (which were surprisingly inexpensive on Hotwire) and I have about an hour layover in Panama City, Panama. I was concerned that wouldn't be enough time, what with customs and all, so I called, and they assured me it was enough time, that the airport was small, the airline was the same and would transfer my bags, and they wouldn't have booked the flights that way if the time was too tight. I found the airport online, and it does seem small - the size of Bob Hope in Burbank, which is tiny and delicious and my favorite departure option. But do you want to rain on my parade and warn me otherwise? That you have done the same thing and no, an hour is not enough time for an International layover? You can tell me. I can change the flight. (I would rather not, though.)

Any other advice or suggestions are appreciated. I'll keep you posted as we continue booking and the trip gets closer. But, just so you know, there's a lot going on between now and then...